Republican Party of Oklahoma

July 24, 2017 | On September 30, 2016, Barry and Trudy Silverstein each gave $416,100 to the Hillary Victory Fund, a joint fundraising committee. The Victory Fund was a federal committee — so contribution limits supposedly apply — raising money for the Democratic National Committee, the Clinton campaign, and 38 state Democratic party committees. Each donor could write one check that…

April 29, 2016 | The last time the Democratic and Republican parties had to stage the quadrennial spectacles that serve as their presidential nominating conventions, they got a big assist from the taxpayers: The Federal Election Commission cut checks to each of the two parties for $18.2 million to pay for construction and other basic services required for the…

January 21, 2016 | In the world of campaign finance, this is becoming a familiar story: A nonprofit group is launched by individuals with political connections; has no physical office, volunteers or employees; and spends much of its money on political consultants, some of whom are linked to the operatives running the group. Also, it does little or no…

May 26, 2015 | Several lawmakers caught up in an investigation of their participation in a lavish overseas trip introduced legislation that would benefit the alleged host of their spring 2013 junket – the state-owned Azerbaijani oil company. Additionally, these lawmakers — and others on the trip — have received tens of thousands of dollars in donations from a…

December 3, 2014 | What do the bulk of Republican presidential hopefuls share with the two major teachers’ unions in the United States, besides mutual dislike? Turns out there is something: Growing opposition to the Common Core education standards. Sen. David Vitter (R-La.) became the latest high-profile Republican to change his stripes and oppose the Common Core on Monday.…

October 14, 2014 | Different factions of the Republican Party are uniting in Kansas against a common enemy: the independent who is threatening Sen. Pat Roberts‘s re-election bid. The GOP has swooped in to support the three-term Republican incumbent against self-proclaimed centrist Greg Orman. National party operatives like Chris LaCivita have taken the reigns of Roberts’s campaign, according to Bloomberg.…

October 9, 2014 | Spending by groups that don’t disclose their donors in the 2014 midterm elections has crested $100 million, a figure that is well ahead of what was spent on congressional races at this point in any other cycle. And the most is yet to come. How much more? Probably at least another $100 million, if past…

February 14, 2013 | Americans borrow a lot of money, and so do members of Congress. In 2011, lawmakers owed between $238.9 million and $568.3 million to various creditors, not including their home mortgage obligations. But it's not all student and car loans and carried-over credit card balances. Lawmakers borrow to buy planes and boats, and get involved in complex transactions involving lines of credit and margin loans with exclusive investment funds. And some carry credit card balances of more than $100,000.

January 31, 2013 | The FEC's higher contribution limits may be better news for Republicans than Dems: far more contributors maxed out to Romney than Obama. Also, Urban Outfitters' new CEO leans right, a distinct change from the chain's last leader.

December 3, 2012 | J.C. Watts, who's being mentioned as a possible RNC chair, has some strong ties to shadow money. A dialysis company that's accused of defrauding Medicare and Medicaid has invested heavily in Washington. And Bloomberg's pro-gun control super PAC likely had an impact.

September 13, 2012 | Lawmakers presiding at a hearing today on problems plaguing the F-22 Raptor have taken in more money from the aircraft's maker than the average member of Congress, according to a new report using CRP data.

September 5, 2012 | After a week of political pageantry and Republican politics in Tampa Bay, the spotlight turns to Democrats this week, as they kick off their own party convention in the battleground state of North Carolina. Readers of this blog know all too well what that means: It's party time.

July 18, 2012 | More than half the outside spending in Pennsylvania's Senate GOP primary was funneled through two super PACs and a nondisclosing nonprofit, meaning the source of the funds may never be known to the public.

June 28, 2012 | The primary battle between Republican James Bridenstine and Rep. John Sullivan (R-OK) in Oklahoma's 1st Congressional District was not only a clash of Tea Party and establishment Republicans, but of different types of medical professionals.

May 9, 2012 | Embattled Chesapeake Energy CEO Aubrey McClendon, embroiled in a corporate governance scandal, has invested heavily in Washington. As regulators probe his activities, he may be hoping those campaign contributions and lobbying expenditures bring a good return.

February 24, 2012 | An Obama fundraiser at the Orlando home of a Dallas Mavericks star last night wasn't the only evidence that NBA players and owners know how to play politics. They've contributed $2.6 million to federal candidates and political committees since 2009, according to research by the Center for Responsive Politics, and have shown a strong preference for Democrats.

December 5, 2011 | While it remains to be seen what role former Godfather's Pizza CEO Herman Cain will play in the next stretch of the race for the 2012 GOP presidential nomination, it's certainly true that his political war chest is alive and well for the time being.

October 20, 2011 | Nearly lost in the troves of campaign finance data recently released by presidential candidates was an updated list of bundlers for President Barack Obama's 2012 re-election campaign. These 359 well-connected supporters have raised at least $56 million for Obama and the Democratic National Committee so far this year, according to research by the Center for Responsive Politics.

February 23, 2011 | During the 2010 election cycle, 20 political action committees registered with the Federal Election Commission with the "Tea Party" moniker attached to their respective names, yet only a handful of these groups raised serious money, according to a Center for Responsive Politics analysis of federal data.

December 2, 2010 | Reps. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and John Boehner (R-Ohio) lawmakers have been in Congress for at least two decades, and have plenty influence to show for it. Political watchers are prepared for the rivals -- their positions switched -- to resume their sparring in January. OpenSecrets Blog, meanwhile, details who may have the key political advantages as the curtain opens on the 112th Congress.

October 4, 2010 | Not all congressional districts are created equal when it comes to the amount of campaign contributions flowing to candidates. Sometimes, the discrepancy between an incumbent's war chest and that of a challenger is only thousands of dollars. Sometimes, it's millions. And in many congressional districts, incumbents are blowing their competition out of the water.

September 30, 2010 | This fall, Republicans need a net gain of 39 seats to win control of the U.S. House of Representatives. Some of the seats most likely to flip from the Democratic column to Republican control stem from the retirements of sitting Democratic incumbents.
And when it comes to competing for these open seats, Republicans own a financial advantage.

May 13, 2010 | Votes are already being cast in the free-for-all special election in Hawaii's 1st Congressional District, and a Republican candidate has emerged with the most cash on hand in the campaign's final stretch. Republican Charles Djou, a city council member in Honolulu, has nearly $170,000 more in the bank than the most well-financed Democratic candidate.

September 29, 2008 | The oil and gas industry, under the spotlight this fall with energy at the forefront of political discourse, isn't hesitating to put some of its record profits into the hands of candidates who support its cause (or those it's seeking to convert). So far this election cycle, the oil and gas industry has given $12.3 million total to congressional candidates. The nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics has identified the candidates who have received the most money from oil and gas interests in this election cycle, and Capital Eye selected a few races to more deeply examine the impact of well-digger dollars on politics.

September 25, 2008 | Private interests and members of the public aren't the only ones betting their money on the congressional candidates they hope will win (or retain) congressional seats. Lawmakers in both parties have a vested interest in seeing their own candidates succeed this November, with Democrats wanting to strengthen their majority and Republicans hoping to minimize their losses. Here we look at some of the candidates getting the largest cash infusions from their own parties, indicating a close race.

August 24, 2008 | There is an emboldened breed of politician strutting around Denver this week and tonight, as part of the Democratic Party's convention, multiple corporations will be throwing a late-night bash in honor of these creatures. A group of fiscally conservative Democrats known as the Blue Dog Coalition has been able to leverage centrist appeal and an increasing Democratic majority into strong gains in the House of Representatives. The group's unique appeal is evidenced in the Blue Dogs' formidable fundraising coalition.

February 3, 2008 | Until the 4th Quarter, Ron Paul was literally not on the map—that is, he was not the top fundraiser in a single state. But with his impressive 4th Quarter surge, the Texas congressman collected more money than any other candidate, in either party, in 10 states.

March 8, 2007 | Now that Democrats control Congress, the political dynamic of climate change has shifted. Many industries and interests have a stake. By Lindsay Renick Mayer March 08, 2007 | The earth is warming at an unnatural pace, but this isn’t the only climate change that has multiple industries re-assessing their political strategy. As the debate over…

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